Burgers and Pasta Salad

It's got to be pretty spectacular to pull me out of non-blogging status to actually posting something anymore. I wish that wasn't the case. There have been times when I thought about something I've made and when I try to find it, I realize I never posted it, and then I have no clue where to look. Yesterday I made some hamburgers that were good, and today I made some pasta salad to go with the leftover hamburgers. Would you believe I got the inspiration for the burgers from the back of the Lipton box? True. As for the salad, I have a photo album category on my phone where I put recipes that I gather on the go. What I mean is that if I'm away from my house (and computer) and I see a recipe that looks good, I'll take a picture of it and it usually stays right in my phone and I never try it. Today was an exception, and I'm glad it was!

Lipton Onion Soup Burgers, adapted

2 lbs ground beef, 85% lean

1/2 cup greek yogurt

2 T mayonnaise (I used light)

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Gently mix everything together. Form into 8 patties. Grill or pan fry (I grilled!) until desired doneness. Top with cheese if you want. 

Pasta Salad  (adapted from centercutcook.com)

1 lb pasta of your choice (I used spiral pasta)

1 red bell pepper, diced

3 ribs celery, thinly sliced

1/4 cup finely chopped onion (optional; I opted out because I didn't have an onion)

4 to 8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup mayonnaise (light is fine)

1/4 cup sugar

2 T apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 tsp dried parsley

optional- chopped broccoli

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse under cool water until no longer hot. Drain well. While waiting for the pasta to cook, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, pepper and parsley. Stir in the red bell pepper, celery, onion and broccoli (if using). When the pasta is no longer warm, stir it into the dressing mixture. Gently stir in the cheese. Chill salad for about 30-60 minutes before serving. 

And now I'll be able to find these recipes again because they're posted! Good thing there was a little bit of leftover salad so I had something to use for my photo!

Independence Day Festivities

Laura's here. But after seeing the next picture, you would have known that anyway.

Cuteness in a pie tin, waiting to be baked. 

Everything tastes better on a stick, right? Laura is bound and determined! 

Hurray, Grandma L brought flags for the traditional parade! 

Miss Lovely, herself. 

In case you needed a closer view. 

Ready for the ballgame!

Hey batter, batter! 

Laura's cuteness again. 

Side one of the utensil caddy

Side two of the same caddy

I forgot about my cute vase(s). Laura hadn't. 

Piña Colada slush

Baked flag pies

These strawberries were amazing! Laura's idea. 

Laura's idea. 

Agnes and her beautiful braids (I did that one). 

I love this girl. 

Agnes is wearing Grandma L's earrings. 

Just because. 

Olive had just tasted the wand of bubble soap, so she was downing this strawberry lemonade to wash out her mouth. 

Yummy corn. 

Eliot really liked the strawberries. 

Agnes is serving pudding pops. 

The boys are enjoying the pops!

Grandma L was singing patriotic songs. It was fun! Laura pulled off another terrific party. 

The only bad part of the day was when Olive was climbing the ladder to the play area and got stung by a wasp! Poor baby!!!

Never Again- Again

In July I told you I would never again make Snickerdoodles without adding cinnamon chips. Now I'm telling you again, I will never again make pizza...in the oven! The grill is the place for cooking pizza! If you peruse any cooking blogs at all, they've been telling you all summer to cook your pizza on the grill. THEY WERE RIGHT!

Here's my dinner...

here's Karen's dinner. See any difference? We are a two root beer brand family.

And here's Karen's dinner a little later.

I used Our Best Bites (of course) recipes for their pizza dough and sauce. Here's my tips for total success. First read everything Sara wrote so you know what to expect. Get your barbecue quite hot. Spray or oil the grates, and brush one side of the dough with olive oil. Immediately after putting the dough on the grill (oiled-side down), turn your heat down as low as you can or use indirect heat. That side of the pizza cooks rather quickly, so keep an eye on it (which is kind of hard to do because you need to close the lid on the barbecue to let it cook). Just peek at it after about 2 minutes. When you see nice little brown lines on the underside of the dough, flip it over, but put it on the upper rack if you have one. Then add your sauce, cheese and toppings of choice and close the lid again. As soon as your cheese is melted, the rest of the pizza should be cooked and you are ready to experience the best pizza you've ever made. You have made pizza at home, right? Pizza is all about the crust, and this is the best crust ev-er.

Teriyaki Glaze or Sauce

Have you ever started to make something only to find that you don't have a certain ingredient? Usually I will put everything out on the counter before I get too involved in the project, but the other day I was certain I had teriyaki sauce in the refrigerator only to find that there was a partial bottle of marinade but it had an expiration date of 2009. After looking up a couple of recipes, I tweaked stuff around to come up with this, and it's really good. I then used it to brush onto these kabobs.

 That bun is leftover from the other night. I like to spread some butter on it, sprinkle it ever so lightly with a little kosher salt and toss it in a frying pan until the butter makes the bun a little crispy.

 Bud didn't recognize the pineapple. He asked if it was a potato pattie. Silly boy.

And here's a little banana pie for dessert.

Teriyaki Glaze (or sauce, depending on how thick you want it)
1/2 cup soy sauce (I used the lower sodium version)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp garlic powder
Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Let it boil for a couple of minutes (it will foam up quite a bit before it settles back down). If you want it more of a sauce, use it as-is from this point. If you want it thicker for a glaze, add 1 T. Ultra Gel and stir until incorporated, or I imagine a little dissolved cornstarch would work just as well if you don't have Ultra Gel (but you should have Ultra Gel because that stuff is amazing!).

Way Better Than Fries

In case you wanted to make that burger we had last week, here's the recipe for it and for the onion straws.
Burgers:
1 cup dry bread crumbs (I used Italian style)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 lb. ground beef
In a large bowl, combine everything except the meat until it is well mixed. Add the meat and mix well, but mix gently. Shape into six patties (they are big- mine weighed 8 oz. pre-cooked). Grill over medium heat about five minutes per side.

Onion straws:
1 whole onion, sliced very thinly
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups flour
1 T salt
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 quart canola oil (for frying)
Place the sliced onion into a ziploc baggie (quart-sized works best). Pour buttermilk into baggie and seal. Let that soak for an hour. Combine dry ingredients together.
Heat oil to 375°F. I used a candy thermometer to keep an eye on my temperature because it will decrease as you begin frying.
Pour the buttermilk off the onions. Take about 1/3 of the onions and dredge into the flour mixture, shaking off the extra flour after you dip the onions. Drop the onions into the hot oil (do NOT burn yourself!). Stir the onions around for about a minute, removing them to a paper towel to drain when they are golden brown. Repeat until all onions have been cooked. Stack these little lovelies high onto your burger because they are the best thing you will ever taste on a burger.

A Little Extra Effort

Last night I tried a new hamburger recipe. After all, it was the first day of Autumn, so what better way to celebrate than with a burgers off the barbecue? I used a Taste Of Home recipe by Marsha Urso (of Pittsburgh, PA, in case you want to stop by her place and give a holler). The recipe uses 1/2 cup of Italian salad dressing among other things. I no longer buy Italian salad dressing because my BFF's have a great one in their book (sorry, it's not on their blog).

Italian Dressing (from Our Best Bites)
1/4 cup white, rice or white wine vinegar (I usually use rice)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (I use crushed red pepper)
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 cloves garlic (I seldom have cloves around so I use 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 cup canola oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (fresh or canned)
3/4 tsp Italian seasoning (or to taste)
In a blender, combine all ingredients except the oil, cheese and Italian seasoning. While the blender is on, pour the oil in slowly. I have a nifty gadget on my blender that allows me to add the oil into a little funnel that is built into the lid which does the slow addition for me. After several seconds the oil will be emulsified nicely. Add the cheese and Italian seasoning and give it a very brief whirl. Store in the refrigerator (at least four hours before using it for the best flavor) for a couple of weeks, if you can keep from using it all by then.

To make dinner a little more special, I made the buns. Then I practiced my spider web design so I'd be ready for some cookies I'll be making in a couple of weeks. No, the cookies will not have ketchup and mustard on them.

I made these onion straws which were my personal favorite part of the meal.

And the rest of the meal speaks for itself. Do you hear it? It's calling your name!

Oh, yes!

I'll get the hamburger recipe and onion straws on here in a few days.

Karen's Favorite Dinner

Tuesday was all-Karen's-favorites day. I started by making bread...plain ol' white comfort-the-soul bread. Then I made the chocolate chip cookies you saw Caleb eating on yesterday's post. For dinner, I made Karen's fave-oh-right dinner EV-er. She loves this salad. LOVES this salad.
I was certain I had posted it and after an in-depth search, I finally found it from two years ago. It's Sara's recipe from Our Best Bites . I don't really have to keep clarifying that Sara (who told me yesterday that she loves Karen even though she doesn't know her-it's the cilantro war I have going on with Sara) or Kate is from OBB, do I? You all just know that by now, right? And if you haven't tried it, you are seriously missing one of the best combinations of flavor your mouth has ever experienced. It's in their cookbook, and it's online, so there's no excuse for you not to be enjoying this soon. And, being the nice mother that I am, I even bought some cilantro for Karen to put on her salad, but I made her chop it up, and I made her sit on the other side of the table from me while we ate. I can't even stand to smell that stuff, let alone eat it. Gag. The photo is of my plate- sans cilantro, of course.

Here's a quick link for the caramelized macadamia nuts that are used in this recipe, which can be used with any type of nut.